Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Zero Volume 4

Meiru fled from Lyutillis’ grasp, her hair already disheveled. But before
she could go more than a few steps, a wall of poisonous butterflies blocked
her path. Lyutillis crawled over to her and waited patiently for more
punishment, her cheeks flushed. She arched her back a little and gave Meiru a
suggestive look, as if asking Meiru to sit on her.

“You know, despite how annoyed Meru-nee looks, everything she does is
exactly what Lyu-chan wants.”

“Lyu’s fetishes and Meiru’s personality are a perfect match.”
Meiru reluctantly sat down on Lyutillis, and Lyutillis’ eyes lit up with
excitement. Miledi and Naiz watched the two of them with an oddly gentle
look in their eyes. Despite how much Meiru said she hated being around
Lyutillis, in the end she always ended up giving the queen the sadistic
beatdown she wanted. This past month, Meiru had really grown into a good
master. Miledi and Naiz took their tea set out from their Treasure Troves as
they discussed the evolution of Meiru and Lyutillis’ relationship. Meanwhile,
Meiru seemed utterly shocked that her beloved little sister Miledi wasn’t
coming to her aid. Lyutillis took advantage of Meiru’s shock to escalate her
antics even further.
From the looks of it, the ancient magic users were enjoying their brief
respite between battles to the fullest. As the group sipped their tea, Miledi
unconsciously glanced southwards. She was unaware of the action herself,
and looked somewhat spaced out. Her actions didn’t escape Meiru’s notice.
“Fufu. Oh Miledi-chan,” Meiru chuckled, still sitting on Lyutillis’ back. A
playful grin spread across her face as a sudden urge to tease Miledi welled up
within her.
“Huh? What’s up?”
Miledi turned to Meiru, looking genuinely confused.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Oscar-kun will arrive soon.”
Miledi’s cup rattled as her hand started to shake, and she hurriedly averted
her gaze.
“Huh? Where’d that come from, Meru-nee? I wasn’t even thinking about
O-kun. Why’d you bring him up?”
“You’re not convincing anyone when you look that flustered, Miledi.”
“Shut up, Nacchan!”
Naiz obediently shut up. However, Meiru wasn’t done teasing Miledi yet.
She was still holding a grudge over the fact that Miledi had abandoned her

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minutes ago.
“You know, you’ve been looking south more frequently lately.”
“N-No I haven’t.”
“Yes you have. Who’re you hoping to see there, I wonder?”
“W-Well even if I have, it’s only natural. After all, once the others join up

with us we’ll be able to put an end to this war. What’s wrong with looking
forward to their arrival? There’s nothing weird about me unconsciously
looking south more often than usual! Man, I can’t wait until Van-chan and
the others get here!”

Miledi’s composure was back. She really did look like she meant what she
said. Of course, Meiru and Naiz were still grinning at her.

“Are Miledi-tan and Oscar-san lovers?” Lyutillis asked, genuinely
curious.

“No way. Also, Lyu-chan. Isn’t it about time you sat down like a normal
person?”

“But then Onee-sama won’t have anywhere to sit...”
“We’ve got more chairs, you know!”
“I see you all came prepared.”
“Why do you sound so depressed about that!? Actually, don’t answer; I
know why!”
Lyutillis glared angrily at the extra chairs Miledi pulled out of her
Treasure Trove. But then Meiru ordered her to sit in one and her ears
wriggled happily as she complied. Eyes sparkling, she turned once more to
Miledi.
“One of my greatest dreams was to talk about love with my friends. But I
couldn’t talk to U-chan or Di-chan since they’re guys.”
“Ah, I see. I’d say there’s a bigger problem than the fact that they’re guys,
but I’ll ignore that for now.”
“But you already said it, Miledi.”
It would definitely be a problem if the queen of a nation was discussing
love with bugs.
“I’ve heard that Nacchan-san is into little girls and has already made two
young sisters fall for him, but...”
“Excuse me a moment, Lyu. There’s something I need to take care of.
Sorry, but you’ll never see Miledi or Meiru again.”
Naiz’s words were dripping with bloodlust. His eyes had a murderous

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gleam. Miledi and Meiru hurriedly bowed their heads in apology and
changed the topic.

“O-Oh yeah, Miledi-chan. Come to think of it, this is the first time you’ve
been away from Oscar-kun since you met him, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Yeah... I guess it is.”
Now that she mentions it... this really is the first time we’ve been apart for
more than a day. Even when Miledi and Oscar split up, they’d never been
apart for more than a few hours. This was definitely the first time he hadn’t
been with her for a whole month. As she thought that, Miledi absentmindedly
touched something on her face. Meiru and Naiz narrowed their eyes at her.
Noticing their gaze, Miledi turned back to them.
“What?” she asked, cocking her head.
“Oh, just thinking that they really suit you, Miledi-chan. Isn’t that right,
Naiz-kun?”
“Yeah, you’ve been wearing them constantly the past few weeks.”
“Yeah, because they’re convenient. Got a problem with that?”
Not at all Meiru and Naiz thought silently, smiling. Miledi’s glare grew
sharper, and the lenses of the red-rimmed glasses she was wearing flashed in
the light. They were the pair Oscar had made specifically for her, and as Naiz
had said, she’d been wearing them constantly recently. While it was true they
were extremely convenient, Meiru and Naiz knew the real reason she was
wearing them was because she was lonely. Seeing the looks on everyone’s
faces, Lyutillis suppressed her masochistic urges for a bit and smiled gently
at Miledi.
“Over this past month, I’ve heard many of your stories. As someone
who’s never stepped foot out of the forest, I’m honestly quite jealous of the
vibrant lives you’ve lived. I know it hasn’t always been easy, and that you’ve
faced many hardships, but even so I envy your lifestyle.”
“Do you dislike the burden of being queen?”
Realizing Lyutillis was being serious here, Miledi too became serious.
During this past month, Miledi and the others had told Lyutillis how they’d
all met, and what their lives had been like before that. But until now, Lyutillis
hadn’t said anything about her own life. Miledi and the others hadn’t pried,
waiting instead for Lyutillis to talk of her own accord. They knew that once
she trusted them, once she was ready, she’d tell them. The reason Miledi had
asked now was because she’d sensed that Lyutillis was finally ready to talk.

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Is she ready to talk about herself? Does she finally trust us? Lyutillis easily
read those thoughts from Miledi’s hesitant expression. She could see why
Meiru doted on Miledi so.

“No. I’ve never once detested my responsibilities, nor have I ever felt the
desire to abandon them. I’m proud of the abilities I was born with, and proud
to serve the people who need me.”

Her dignity as a queen was back. Miledi and the others could tell there
was an unbreakable will behind that gentle smile of her. She was resolved to
bear the fate of her country on her shoulders.

“I love the republic, this forest, and everyone living within it.”
But even more than that—
“I would not regret even giving up my life if it would secure my people’s
safety.” She was ready to die for it.
“Lyu-chan! I mean, Your Majesty! You can’t—”
“Fufu. Don’t worry, I know. Badd already scolded me once for saying
that.”
Miledi and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They truly are all kind
people... Lyutillis thought to herself as she watched their reactions.
“Pride. Yes, it’s pride that drives me. Pride in my homeland, and pride in
my duty to protect it.”
Lyutillis paused for a moment before continuing.
“But I’ve always wondered... if that’s enough. This is something I’ve been
thinking about long before I took the throne.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“By picking my country, I turned my back to the world. And I’ve always
wondered if spending my life in this closed-off paradise really is the right
thing to do.”
“Are you saying you long for the outside world?”
“Not quite, Meiru. This isn’t about my desires. I’m speaking of the
obligation that our race, the beastmen, has to the world.”
“Lyutillis... Were you planning on fighting with the church from the very
start?” Naiz asked, his eyes wide. Smiling faintly, Lyutillis shook her head.
“I don’t mean anything quite so grand. Remember what I said before? If
my surrender could stop this war, I’d gladly give myself up.”
“I see... You weren’t saying that out of self-sacrifice, but rather... Hahaha,
I’m sorry. It seems I underestimated you, Lyu-chan.”

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Miledi bowed her head in apology. Lyutillis reached out and gently patted
her head.

“I see... You wanted to become a bridge between beastmen and humans,
didn’t you? You were hoping that if you, the beastmen queen, went over to
the church, you’d be able to convince both humans and beastmen to work
together. You thought you could reform the church from the inside.”

“You were determined to fight too, just in a different way than us. Sorry...
I misjudged you.”

“It’s fine. I realize now it was naive to cling to such a foolish dream.
Please don’t apologize. If anything, I’m at fault for being so ignorant.”

Lyutillis blushed in embarrassment, but no one derided her for having
hope. They couldn’t. Her resolve to fight for her people’s future was nothing
short of admirable. Miledi was especially moved. This was the first time
she’d met anyone outside of the Liberators whose goal was to unite all the
races of the world.

“I see. So that’s why you agreed to Badd’s proposal and guided us here.”
That also explained why Lyutillis had trusted Badd enough to let him visit
the capital too. Of course she knew her subjects wouldn’t trust humans, so
she’d treated Badd and the Liberators with caution on the surface, but in her
heart she’d been ready to accept them all along.
“Why did you decide to tell us this?” Miledi asked, her emotions
threatening to overflow. Still looking like a dignified queen, Lyutillis replied
solemnly, “You said we could win this war, Miledi. But once we win, what
should we do next? While you and the Liberators continue to oppose the
church, what should we beastmen do?”
Lyutillis had finally come to an answer. Miledi had said the Liberators
needed no reward for their assistance, but the beastmen of the republic
weren’t so shameless as to let their benefactors leave empty-handed. So there
was only one thing Lyutillis could do.
“Please, allow us to join you.”
The beastmen would join the Liberators’ struggle, both for the Liberators’
sake, and for the world’s. Tears welled up in Miledi’s eyes. This was the first
time someone had offered to join her instead of her doggedly recruiting them.
Meiru and Naiz smiled gently at Miledi. They knew how hard she’d worked
to convince them, and what it meant to her to have someone offering to join
of their own free will instead. Noticing their gazes, Miledi blushed. However,

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while Miledi was extremely moved by Lyutillis’ offer, she couldn’t ignore
the practical problem it presented. Timidly, she asked, “Are you sure about
this? Will the other beastmen really agree to—”

“They will. That was what this past month was for.”
“You mean...”
“There’s a reason I chose to use nicknames for all of you. Moreover, one
of you is a hero who’s protected our forest from the church’s strongest foes,
while another one of you is a saint who’s saved the lives of countless
beastmen. Even you’ve made friends among my imperial guard, Naiz.
Complaining about the recent changes in my behavior has helped you all
bond, hasn’t it?”
“Y-You did that on purpose?”
Of course, Lyutillis knew it would be difficult to get the consent of all
beastmen. But if she could get the most important people in the republic to
trust humans, then she could at least stop them from refusing her request
outright just because the Liberators was a group of humans. At the very least,
Lyutillis was hoping that’s how things would go. After finishing her speech,
Lyutillis elegantly sipped her black tea.
“Ahaha... I guess even if you’re scum, you’re still a queen,” Meiru
muttered, impressed. Indeed, even after knowing all about Lyutillis’ quirks,
she still looked regal to the Liberators.
“D-Did you just call me, a queen, scum...? Heh...”
Hang on, did our wise and resolute queen just blush? Panicking, Miledi
hurriedly tried to think of a way to keep Lyutillis’ serious side around a few
minutes longer.
“Umm, Queen Lyutillis Haltina. I am deeply grateful for your support. As
the leader of the Liberators, I, Miledi Reisen, humbly accept your offer of
aid. Truly, thank you.”
“No, thank you. You have brought a new wind to the stagnant republic.”
Smiling, Miledi and Lyutillis got to their feet and shook hands. Before
their handshake ended, Lyutillis asked, “So now that we’ve gotten closer,
there’s something I absolutely must ask you. What is your relationship with
Oscar-san, Miledi-tan?”
“Are we really going back to that!? Look, we’re just friends! That’s all!”
“Is that really all?”
“Yes, there’s nothing between us!”

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The serious atmosphere melted away, and Lyutillis went back to normal.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she pressed Miledi for more details on
her love life. Miledi turned to Meiru with tears in her eyes, begging the dagon
woman to save her. Lyutillis’ grip was surprisingly tight, and Miledi couldn’t
break free. Pervert though Lyutillis was, she was just as strong as any other
ancient magic user.

“Lyu, Miledi-chan doesn’t want to talk about this... So make sure you
grab her tight and don’t let her escape.”

“Meru-nee!?”
“As you wish, Onee-sama!”
“Wait, don’t listen to her, Lyu-chan! You dummy!”
“Fufu, no one’s called me a dummy to my face before.”
When she was like this, Lyutillis was invincible. Anything anyone did to
try and stop her just made her happy. Everything from insults to kindness was
converted into pleasure.
“Nacchaaaaaan!”
“Haaah... Fine. Hey Lyu, what about you? Is there anyone you’re
interested in?”
Naiz did his best to throw Miledi a bone. Surprised by the sudden
question, Lyutillis cocked her head.
“Since you’re the queen and all, haven’t your retainers tried to set up
marriage interviews with other nobles or anything?”
“Oh yeah! Lyu-chan, are people bugging you about giving birth to an heir
or anything? You’re old enough to have had a few suitors, right? Even that
boring, straight-laced, fun-hating Laus Barn’s married, you know! And he
even has a son!”
In an attempt to save herself, Miledi threw Laus’ reputation under the bus.
Many miles away, Laus sneezed in the middle of the street. Meanwhile,
Lyutillis smiled sadly and said, “Parsha did say she’d try and find someone
willing to accept the real me.”
“Oho! So, who’d she find!?”
When all was said and done, Miledi was a girl too. She was just as
interested in love stories as Lyutillis.
“Did you forget what Parsha said about the number of people who know
my secret?”
Parsha had said that only her and a few maids knew. Which naturally

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meant that despite searching the entire country, she hadn’t been able to find a
single man willing to marry a masochist. Miledi and the others’ expressions
stiffened. Lyutillis suddenly turned to Meiru. After a few seconds, her face
went red.

“H-Hold on a second. Why are you blushing while looking at me?”
“Onee-sama. I’ve been thinking. Love transcends gender, doesn’t it?”
Meiru jumped to her feet and bolted away.
“Ah, where are you going, Onee-sama!? Wait for meeee!”
Lyutillis chased after Meiru with surprising agility. She also sent a
cockroach swarm led by U-chan and a butterfly swarm led by Di-chan after
Meiru, blocking off her avenues of escape. A gentle breeze wafted through
the clearing.
“Hey Nacchan, you think Badd would be willing to marry Lyu-chan?”
“Is he secretly a sadist?”
“Nope.”
“Definitely not then.”
“Figures... Still, he’ll probably freak out anyway when he learns Lyu-
chan’s into a girl.”
“Good luck keeping him in line, Leader.”
Miledi’s shoulders drooped, but then a second later her expression grew
serious.
“The theocracy’s probably realized by now that they can’t push any
further into the forest as long as we’re here.”
“Yeah, definitely.”
“Meaning she’ll definitely be showing up soon.”
“Agreed...”
The two of them were thinking about Hearst, the God’s Apostle that
they’d fought in the desert.
“The mist barrier is practically impenetrable. But, knowing her...”
“Yeah, who knows what she’s capable of. Back in Andika she managed to
disguise herself so well no one even noticed she was there... Well, that’s why
I’m staying back here to guard Lyutillis.”
“Mhmm... I’m counting on you, Nacchan.”
Miledi thought back to the earth-shattering duel they’d had in the Crimson
Desert, her expression solemn. Despite their best efforts, the three of them
had lost. While Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz had succeeded in inflicting grave

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injuries on Hearst, it had cost them every last drop of their mana. On the
other hand, Hearst had still been in fighting shape. It was obvious what the
result would have been had their battle continued.

But for some reason, Hearst had retreated. She’d let them live.
Technically the fact that they’d survived at all could be considered a victory,
but Miledi and Naiz both knew they’d been defeated in terms of strength.

“We have to protect Lyu-chan, no matter what. We won’t let the church
lay a finger on the republic.”

“Yeah.”
“Also—”
Miledi turned her gaze upward, giving the heavens a piercing glare. She
gritted her teeth, her usual annoying attitude nowhere to be seen. Her eyes
were burning with determination.
“This time, we’ll win. I’ll prove to the world that Miledi Reisen can stand
up to god.”
She wouldn’t run. Nor would she let her foe escape. This time, Miledi
Reisen would prove once and for all that she could take down the symbol of
Ehit’s will, God’s Apostle. It was time to send the whole world a message.
Naiz put a reassuring hand on Miledi’s shoulder, indicating that he’d be
there to fight with her. At the same time, he looked south, a hint of
impatience in his expression. Please hurry, Oscar, Van. The decisive battle is
drawing near. They would need everyone if they wanted to win against
Hearst.
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the battle the next day was
not the finale they’d planned for. The church’s knights and the Federation
launched a very lukewarm assault and retreated at the slightest hint of danger.
Of course, the Liberators knew there was no way the theocracy’s crazed
zealots had lost their nerve. The concept of giving up didn’t exist in their
dictionary, meaning they had to be planning something.
Naiz couldn’t leave Lyutillis’ side, but he could still create portals to
teleport people. And so after half a month of half-assed attacks by the church,
Miledi decided to use one of those portals to infiltrate Agris and find out
what was going on. However, it turned out there was no need for Miledi to go
scouting. Because the day before she was planning on going, the Federation
launched a full-scale assault using all 170,000 of their troops. They were
clearly planning on ending things in one push, without any regard to what it

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might cost. Every one of the Federation’s exhausted soldiers had a fanatic
glint in their eyes that made it clear they would either emerge victorious or
perish to the last man.

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Chapter IV: Miledi Reisen’s True Mettle

That day, the battlefield was enveloped in a strange atmosphere. The earth
trembled as 170,000 pairs of boots marched across the plains. Crazed shouts
filled the air.

“Damn bastard!”
“Get off of me!”
The beastmen warriors faltered as they grappled with soldiers with
bloodshot eyes. The federation’s troops charged the beastmen in groups of
four, clinging to their targets with dogged resolve. They didn’t relent, even
when they were stabbed through the heart or had their heads caved in. It was
as if they didn’t feel any pain at all.
“No way, are they gonna sacrifice their allies aga—”
One of the beastmen said, panicking. While one soldier pinned him down,
another group ran their spears through both of them, killing friend and foe
alike. They let out a bestial howl as they thrust, seemingly not caring that
they were killing an ally too.
“Gaaaah!?”
“Are you insa— Gwah!”
Spears lanced through the beastman from all sides.
“Ehit is with us!”
“There is no greater honor than martyrdom!”
Blood spilled from the skewered soldier’s mouth, but he smiled in
satisfaction as he died. The other beastmen shivered in horror. In the last few
fights, they’d seen a glimpse of how deep the Federation’s faith went. They’d
been disgusted by the humans’ blind loyalty to Ehit, but they’d also felt pity
for the deluded fools.
Before, even when their faith had taken precedence, the soldiers had still
retained some semblance of humanity. They’d feared death and gotten angry
when their comrades were slain. But now—
What the hell... What’s with these guys!? It’s like they’re not even human
anymore! The human soldiers laughed as they died, even when it was their

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own comrades who were killing them.
“Outta my waaay!”
Just as the beastmen were about to break, Badd came leaping to their

rescue. With one kick he scattered the Federation’s soldiers, and as he landed
he spun in a circle, swinging his scythe in a giant indigo arc. As a Liberator,
Badd was honor-bound not to kill the soldiers. So his slice drained the mana
of every soldier it passed through rather than cutting them in half. The
Federation troops collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap. They could
ignore pain, but not the physiological exhaustion that came with having no
mana. A second later a portal opened up above the nearly-dead beastman, and
restorative orange light poured down on him, instantly curing his lethal
injuries.

“Gah! Thanks for the save, Badd-dono!”
“Don’t let your guard down! These guys are all even willing to blow
themselves up to take you down. Be ready for anything!”
Cold sweat poured down Badd’s forehead. His usual calm demeanor was
nowhere to be seen.
“Meiru’s burning through her mana fast! Even with Lyu’s help, she won’t
last long, so try not to get hurt!”
“Gotcha! But these guys—”
Another wave of crazed soldiers charged recklessly toward the beastmen.
The mist barrier was still active, but the federation simply had too many
troops. Though they weren’t employing any strategy at all, just by charging
blindly into the fog and attacking anything they saw they were able to push
the battle lines back. Worse, it wasn’t just the Federation soldiers who’d
thrown away all thoughts of self-preservation.
“Gaaaah!”
There was a loud thunderclap, and Valf suddenly hurtled into the clearing
Badd was in. Blood spurted from numerous deep cuts, trailing in the air
behind him. He made no move to soften his landing, and it looked like he was
already unconscious.
“Goddamnit!”
Badd activated his body strengthening magic and jumped forward to catch
Valf. There was a dry crackling noise, and a second later the beastman soldier
Badd had saved from being skewered got decapitated. As did the dozen or so
Federation soldiers that had been charging at them. Their heads sailed

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through the air like basketballs. Standing in the center of this carnage was
Lilith. Lightning was covering every inch of her. She lowered her sword
ominously at Badd.

“Plasma Thunder.”
Bolts of lightning shot out from her in every direction. The explosion of
electricity was so bright it momentarily blinded Badd.
“Harvest it all— Egxess!”
Holding Valf in one hand, Badd spun his scythe to shield himself with the
other. Egxess drained the mana from Lilith’s attack, neutralizing any bolts
that came into contact with it. Lilith’s attack lasted only a few seconds. But
those few seconds were more than enough to do some serious damage. By the
time Badd could see again, there was nothing around him. The Federation
soldiers and the beastmen had both been reduced to ash.
“Do your allies mean nothing to you? Guess I should have expected as
much from the church.” Badd spat, his expression stiff. Lilith raised her head,
looking up at him. There was a terrifying gleam in her eyes.
“I’m simply doing what needs to be done,” she muttered. If the fog made
it impossible for her to aim her attacks, then the only solution was to
obliterate everything in her vicinity. Her allies would receive the honor of
martyrdom, while her enemies would receive the hammer of divine wrath.
“For the glory of God!”
This was Lilith Arkind’s true nature. However she was hardly unique,
every Templar Knight was like this. There was another flash of light, and
Lilith appeared behind Badd. She’d used electromagnetism to accelerate
herself to superhuman speeds. Fortunately, Badd was used to dealing with
superhumans.
“Egxess!”
He whirled around, his scythe leaving an indigo trail as he swung it at
Lilith. Before the mana-eating blade could reach her, though, she disappeared
in another flash. She reappeared a good distance away and incinerated
another group of beastmen and Federation soldiers who were locked in
combat around her. She continued jumping around the battlefield, killing
everything she approached, regardless of whether it was friend or foe. As
Badd, who was immune to the mist’s effects, chased her down, orange light
poured down on the wolfman in his arms.
“Ngh, Badd! Sorry, I fucked up. Where’d that bitch go!?”

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Badd held out a hand to silence Valf and activated the earring transmitter
Artifact he’d received from Miledi.

“Lyu, get rid of the mist around Lilith!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! She’s started blasting away indiscriminately. I’d rather her aim
straight for me than have her hopping around randomly!”
“Very well. But be careful.”
A second later, the mist vanished in a 200-meter dome around Badd.
Confused, the beastmen in the area all stopped moving for a second. While
everyone was still getting their bearings, Badd sucked in a breath and shouted
in a voice louder than Lilith’s thunder, “Retreat! I’ll take care of things here!
Just don’t let any of the other knights come here!”
That was enough for the beastmen to realize that Lyutillis had created a
dueling arena for Badd and Lilith.
The beastmen quickly disengaged from the Federation soldiers and started
mobbing the Templar Knights around Lilith.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
But before they could tackle the knights some invisible force sent them all
flying backward.
“Fugyaa!?”
At the same time, Sui flew into the clearing, blood spraying from her
wounds. Valf hurriedly grabbed her before she could fall, and a portal
appeared to rain orange light down on her.
“Jeez! What’s wrong with you, Valf-san!? You can’t just get beaten up
and leave me to fend for myself! If you’re going to get cut down anyway, you
should have at least been my meat shield! I thought I was gonna die back
there!”
“Well sorry for leaving you alone, you worthless rabbit.”
Sui was surprisingly energetic for someone who had a hole in her
stomach, even if it was being healed. Valf gave her a sarcastic apology, but
he didn’t push the issue. There were bigger problems at hand.
“You dispelled the mist protecting you? Fools.”
Another knight stepped into the arena, his body hazy and indistinct. As he
cleared the mist, his silhouette grew more solid, until he finally regained
physical form. The newcomer was Zebal, the commander of the Templar
Knights’ third division.

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“Zebal... Get the knights out of here! I’m going to continue my
indiscriminate charge! Send only Federation soldiers into this arena!”

“Roger!”
Zebal nodded and stretched his arms out in front of him. A second later
they transformed into a colorless liquid and started absorbing nearby
moisture. He spread his water tentacle-arms around the edge of the arena,
creating a ring. Why are they only sacrificing Federation soldiers? Before the
beastmen had time to even ask that question, Lilith resumed her lightning
barrage.
“Oh no you don’t!”
“You’ll have to get through us first!”
“I hate thiiiiis! I wanna go hoooooooome!”
Badd blocked Lilith’s lightning with his scythe while Valf ducked low
and charged toward Zebal. Amidst the confusion, Sui vanished.
Valf swiped at Zebal with his gauntleted claws. At the same time, he
activated his special magic, Float Field. Losing one’s balance during a close-
combat encounter was fatal, so Valf’s ability was one of the most powerful
ones out there. Unfortunately, Zebal’s special magic was perfectly equipped
to handle it. Right before Valf struck, he used Liquefaction to turn himself
into water. As a liquid, he didn’t have to worry about his balance being
affected. However, Valf hadn’t been expecting such a simple attack to work
in the first place.
“Die, you fucker!”
“Tch. Not you again.”
Sui suddenly appeared next to Zebal and threw a flask at him. The green
liquid contained within would easily dissolve into his aqueous form.
Naturally, that liquid was poison. It was a very special toxin Sui had created
by mixing poisons harvested from plants with poisons harvested from
monsters. The venom was deadly enough to bring down an elephant. Though
liquifying himself protected Zebal from physical attacks, his true atomic
composition was still that of a regular human—meaning poison could still
kill him. He instantly canceled his Liquefaction and dodged out of the way of
the flask. But as he dodged, Valf’s claws came up to meet him. However,
Zebal hadn’t reached the rank of third division commander by virtue of his
magic alone. He was highly skilled with his daggers, and by combining his
abilities with body strengthening magic, he was able to weather Valf’s

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onslaught. That being said, he had been pinned down by Valf and Sui’s
combo attacks. “Get out of here, you guys! And make sure the Federation
soldiers can’t get in here!” Valf shouted.

“R-Roger!”
As a result, Zebal was unable to fulfill his orders, and the beastmen were
able to escape the duel arena.
“You’re not getting awaaaaaay!”
Lilith tried to chase after the retreating beastmen, but Badd easily blocked
her path.
“Hold your horses!”
“Ngh, damned Knight Hunter! Stop getting in my way!”
Just as Lilith tried to activate her lightning acceleration, Badd sliced at her
feet, forcing her to dodge backward. In that brief span of time, the beastmen
had successfully completed their retreat. However, Lilith was determined to
massacre as many beastmen as possible, and tried to jump into the fog.
“Sorry, but you’re not getting past here.”
“Curse you!”
But like before, Badd predicted her trajectory and swiped down at where
she’d end up. He was reading her movements perfectly.
“How many times do you think we’ve fought over this past month? Only
an idiot wouldn’t have your tells figured out by now.”
Whenever Lilith activated her superspeed, she had a habit of sending a
single spark in the direction she intended to go. With the mist gone, she
followed that trajectory perfectly, making it simple for Badd to read her.
“You haven’t won yet!”
Lilith snarled. It galled her to no end that Badd was good enough to keep
her in check. But at the same time, Badd was frustrated that he couldn’t land
a decisive blow on Lilith. The commander of the Templar Knights was still
skilled enough to defend against any fatal attacks Badd might attempt.
Moreover, Badd had his hands full making sure Lilith didn’t kill his allies.
See, this is why I tell everyone the Knight Hunter title’s just an
exaggeration. Badd thought, a rueful smile appearing on his face. He
couldn’t use any special magic, and his affinity for regular magic was
mediocre at best. In that respect, Badd Virtus was as average as they come.
But after going through years of hellish training and making it through
dozens of battlefields, Badd had finally built up enough skill to fight on the

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same level as natural-born geniuses. If there was one thing he had confidence
in, it was his own grit and ingenuity. Which was why—

“Vaaaaaaalf! I could use some help here!”
“So could I, you moron!”
He opted to switch targets. Lilith and Zebal had been so focused on their
respective opponents, that they hadn’t considered the possibility that they’d
have to face anyone else. So Badd and Valf swapped places to grab the upper
hand.
“Wha—!?”
“Damned Knight Hunter!”
Valf’s Float Field successfully threw Lilith off-balance, while Badd’s
scythe cut right through the liquid Zebal, stealing his mana. Naturally, Sui
didn’t let this opportunity slip past her either.
“I hate overtime!”
“Ngh!”
Despite her complaining, Sui still reappeared next to Lilith and drove a
poisoned dagger into her flank. Lilith and Zebal staggered backward, gravely
wounded. But just as Badd and the others moved in to deal the decisive blow
—
“Don’t underestimate me— Volt Blast!”
“Pure Mist!”
Lilith raised her sword into the air, calling down a storm of thunder and
lightning that blinded and deafened Badd and the others.
“Valf, Sui!”
Badd twirled his scythe over his head to defend himself from the barrage
of lightning. Egxess glowed indigo as its whirling blade ate up every bolt of
lightning it touched. Soon enough, Valf and Sui came to hide underneath his
umbrella of protection.
“What the heck? That poison should have killed her! What’s that gorilla
lady made of!?”
Sui couldn’t believe Lilith had enough strength left to call down an attack
this powerful. Between blasts of lightning, Badd caught a glimpse of what
was restoring her strength. Both her and Zebal were guzzling down a pale
blue liquid. Lilith’s ashen complexion became full of vitality again while
Zebal’s numerous wounds vanished. Badd hadn’t expected them to use the
legendary medicine the church gave out only to those of commander rank or

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higher, Ambrosia. Of course, Lilith and Zebal were livid over the fact that
they’d been forced to waste one of their biggest trump cards here, but Badd
and the others were getting truly desperate now. Everything they’d worked
for until now had just been undone. Sui’s eyes were glazed over while Valf
was grinding his teeth so hard they were cracking.

“Uwooooooooooooooh!”
“You’ve got this, Badd!”
“I’m sick of this! You better protect me with your life, Badd!”
Badd groaned as lightning rained down on him. Even with Egxess, he was
having a hard time absorbing everything. If I can’t absorb it all, I’ll send
some of it back at you!
“It’s reaping time— Egxess!”
Countless blades shot out from Egxess, offsetting Lilith’s lightning bolts.
As he started pushing them back, Badd forced open a path toward Lilith.
“Valf!”
“Roger!”
Valf dashed through the narrow opening. But Zebal, who’d insulated
himself by turning himself into pure water, moved to block his path.
“I won’t let you harm the commander.”
“Please just die already! You’re making my job harder!”
Sui leaped up in front of Zebal and slashed at him with her poisoned
daggers. Zebal blocked with his own daggers, and there was a loud metallic
screech as their weapons clashed. Valf took advantage of the brief opening to
close the gap between him and Lilith. He launched a barrage of slashes at her,
using Float Field to disorient her. But while that successfully stopped Lilith’s
lightning storm, they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“Rwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”
A litany of battle cries echoed through the arena. The Federation’s
soldiers had finally broken their way in. There were so many of them they
looked like a writhing swarm.
“Sorry, Captain Valf! But we can’t stop ’em!”
“They’re using their dead comrades’ corpses as battering rams to push
through!”
“They won’t stop even when we crush their bones! It’s like they don’t feel
any pain!”
The beastmen chased after the swarm of soldiers, but they were all

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covered in wounds. Moreover, no matter how many soldiers they cut down
from behind, there were just too many federation troops pouring in. Within
seconds, the hordes of Federation soldiers had reached Valf and the others’
battlefield.

“Get the Knight Hunter!” Lilith screamed.
“Damn bitch!” Valf shouted as he dodged the snake-like bolts of lightning
Lilith shot at him. While Valf was occupied, the soldiers were all able to
focus on Badd. Badd quickly reversed Egxess’ rotation and started hitting the
soldiers with the flat side of his blade. The force of his blows was enough to
knock his enemies unconscious, and if their supernatural resistance to pain let
them endure that, the mana drain that came after caused them to collapse
anyway. But then Lilith grabbed one of the soldiers to use as a meat shield
and started advancing on Badd.
“You can’t kill these guys, can you!? You coward!”
“Shut up! What’s cowardly is what you’re doing!”
So this is why she only wanted to let Federation soldiers through.
Knowing he couldn’t kill the soldiers, Badd dodged out of Lilith’s way.
However, Lilith predicted his movements. She tossed her hostage aside and
circled around him using her superhuman acceleration. Wreathing her blade
in lightning, she slashed at Badd’s back.
Shit! Honestly, her slash wasn’t a huge threat. Badd could deflect it easily
enough. But there was so much lightning shooting off her blade that some of
the sparks ended up hitting Badd. Though they did no damage on their own,
they caused his muscles to spasm for a split second. And in that second,
Lilith unleashed a follow-up slash that he had no hope of dodging.
“Shaaaaaaaaaaa!”
But before her swing could land, Valf slid in between the two of them and
slashed at Lilith’s legs. He scored only a glancing blow, but it was enough to
slow Lilith down for a moment. And a moment was all Badd needed. He
twirled around, slamming Egxess into the ground, and using the recoil to
push him out of harm’s way. As he pulled Egxess back out of the earth, he
sent a barrage of dirt Lilith’s way. Luckily for him, the dirt actually got into
Lilith’s eyes, distracting her for a moment. At that moment, he sent countless
blades of mana out of his scythe to render the surrounding Federation soldiers
unconscious. Earning himself a brief moment of reprieve, Badd quickly
caught his breath. Valf disengaged as well and came to stand beside him. Sui,

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as always, had vanished. She was likely waiting for another opportunity to
strike. Keeping his attention focused on Lilith and Zebal, Badd muttered
apologetically, “Sorry... I know I’m holding you guys back because of my
dumb hang-ups.”

This was a war zone. Even if Badd wasn’t forcing his ideals on the other
beastmen, it didn’t change the fact that by all rights he deserved to be
ridiculed for his choice to not kill the Federation soldiers. However, Valf
harrumphed dismissively and said, “Don’t call it a ‘hangup.’ That’s one of
your treasured ideals, isn’t it? Then stick to it. I wouldn’t wanna fight
alongside some scumbag who’d easily give up on what they believe in
anyway.”

“I see...”
Badd’s lips curled up into a fearless smile. Valf smiled back at him. These
two had completely different creeds and upbringings. But they respected each
other enough to entrust their lives to one another. Even though they were
human and beastman. This was exactly the kind of future the Liberators were
fighting for.
“Blasphemous!”
“Your very existence is a blight upon this world!”
Lilith and Zebal were disgusted by the trust they saw between Badd and
Valf. But Badd and Valf didn’t seem perturbed by their insults.
“Hey, Badd. If you’re stuck fighting these fools you won’t be able to hunt
down those knights, will you? What good’s the famous Knight Hunter if he’s
not killing knights?”
“Yeah, it really is pathetic. Especially since I came here to help you fight
the church and all.”
The two of them bantered playfully. As expected, their easygoing attitude
infuriated Lilith and Zebal. The two knights were determined to force Badd
to his knees and make him beg for forgiveness. Unfortunately, the heretics
they were facing were strong. Overwhelmingly so. They despised Badd and
Valf, but what they despised even more was their own inability to eradicate
these heretics. But that was about to change.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Badd was the first to notice. The white mist above the dome seemed to be
growing brighter. It was almost as if some glowing entity was passing
through the sky above the mist. A second later, there was a thunderous

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explosion. Shockwaves rippled across the earth and sky. They came from the
east.

“What the hell was that!?”
“Wait, don’t tell me—”
Badd, Valf, and all the other beastmens’ jaws dropped open. Meanwhile,
Lilith just smiled.
“Looks like your time’s finally up. For Ehit!”
Now that they no longer had to worry about the Child of God’s safety, the
church could bomb the Pale Forest without reserve. And that bombing had
finally begun.

On the other side of the plains, Sim’s personal soldiers were locked in a
fierce battle with the main force of the federation’s soldiers, who were being
led by Detref himself. Like the soldiers Badd had faced, these troops also
cared nothing for their lives and threw themselves wholeheartedly into
suicidal charges. Roars and screams filled the battlefield as the beastmen
desperately tried to hold back the tide of federation soldiers. However, two
particular battle cries rang out louder than the rest.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwooooooooooooh!”
One of those two was Sim; the other was Detref. Both men stood nearly
three meters tall and were armored in a wall of muscle. Every time they
clashed, it felt like elephants ramming into each other. Detref’s weapon was a
claymore that was nearly as tall as he was. It was so heavy that normal
humans couldn’t even lift it, much less swing it around. Detref needed a huge
dose of body strengthening magic to use it himself. Shockwaves strong
enough to bowl people over rippled outward every time his sword clashed
with Sim’s halberd.
“Haaaaah!”
Detref slashed diagonally downward at Sim. Sim swung his halberd up in
response. Even with Lyutillis’ evolution magic, Sim’s arms wouldn’t be able
to handle the impact, so he bolstered his block with Shock Wall as well. He
redirected the majority of Detref’s force downward, into the ground, blunting
the blow.
“Graaaah!”
As the ground cracked underneath Sim’s feet, he went on the offensive,

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swinging his halberd sideways. Even if Detref blocked Sim’s blow, he could
use Shock Wall to transfer the impact into the king’s internal organs.
However, Detref was no fool. It wasn’t a fluke that he’d survived on the
battlefield for so long. With superhuman agility, he cartwheeled away,
dodging the halberd by a hair’s breadth. While he was still upside-down, he
also launched a counterattack. Sim blocked it with the halberd’s handle, but
Detref slid his blade up the long pole, trying to cut Sim’s fingers off.

“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Sim let go of his weapon. Without his halberd, he
had no way of blocking Detref’s next swing. Which was why he wasn’t
planning to give Detref time to attack again. He launched himself forward,
manipulating the impact of his foot leaving the ground and transferring its
energy into his arm.
“Nnnngh!”
He punched Detref in the solar plexus, his fist sinking in deep. However,
Detref was more flexible than one might assume from his heavy frame. He
leaned back with the force of the blow, allowing himself to be blown away.
That blunted the force of Sim’s punch, and he was able to land safely a short
distance away.
“I’m surprised. You’re pretty good, human,” Sim said surprisingly softly
as he picked up his halberd.
He wasn’t trying to insult Detref. Sim honestly was impressed by the
king’s skills.
As this was the theater with the heaviest fighting, Lyutillis had already
made sure the fog was as thick as possible here. Even in close combat, the
human soldiers’ sense of direction and distance was being warped. And yet,
Detref was able to execute complex acrobatic maneuvers flawlessly in this
fog. The only way that was possible was if he was completing them on reflex,
since the fog could only interfere with willful actions.
That meant that Detref had accumulated a truly massive amount of
experience on the battlefield, allowing him to fight entirely instinctively.
He’d reached martial enlightenment and could fight without thought. As
insane as it was, he was able to nullify the fog’s disorienting effects as long
as he was engaged in close combat.
“If you’re this strong, why didn’t you come to the front lines earlier?”
“Heh. Leaders of armies aren’t meant to fight on the front lines, you

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know,” Detref replied with a rueful smile. Unlike his crazed soldiers, he
seemed in full command of his mental faculties.

“I knew it, you haven’t gone insane. But you’re having your insane
soldiers kill themselves for victory...”

Sim couldn’t believe it. Are his men just pawns to him? Of course, Sim
wasn’t foolish enough to show sympathy to the enemy soldiers. But as a
warrior, he couldn’t believe someone walking down the same path as him
could be so heartless.

Detref’s smile grew sad and he said, “The die has already been cast. This
is... what god wishes for.”

At that moment, he just looked like a tired old man. Sim narrowed his
eyes. The man in front of him was a pure-blooded warrior, just like him.
Moreover, he was just like Badd. Despite possessing no special abilities of
note, he’d trained himself up to the point where he could go toe to toe with
talented geniuses. And yet, a man of his caliber had seemingly given up.

“You poor soul...”
“There’s no need to pity me. It’s surprisingly freeing, being released from
my responsibilities.”
Detref thought back to the beautiful oracle he’d met that day. Her words,
her demeanor, had changed him to a surprising degree. He was no longer
commander of the Odion Federation’s army. He wasn’t even a king. Right
now, he was just a simple soldier. Which was why he was willing to risk his
life in this battle. As a soldier, as a warrior, it was his greatest wish to fight a
worthy foe.
“Now take your stance, beastman general. I will defeat you and carve
open a path for my comrades.”
“Very well. But first, at least tell me your name. Your strength deserves to
be remembered.”
For a moment Detref wavered. He’d never expected a beastman, someone
who was supposed to despise and disparage humans, to ask him for his name.
But while it came as a surprise, Detref wasn’t offended by the question. In
fact, he found he didn’t even hate this beastman. He thought back to the
bishops who’d always disparaged beastmen and called them mongrel heretics
during council meetings. While he hadn’t been as crass about it, his feelings
for beastmen had been more or less the same. But now he was facing off
against a beastman who sympathized with his plight and also respected his

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valor as a warrior. What a joke. My whole life up until now has been one big
farce! To think I discriminated against beastmen simply for being beastmen.
Strength, both of body and of mind, was what determined a true warrior.
Paltry things like race didn’t matter at all. For the first time in decades, Detref
could feel his blood start to boil. Pouring his passion into his words, he said,
“Detref. My name is Detref Ernst. I am but a humble warrior.”

“Sim Gato. Commander of the republic’s armies.”
Detref and Sim smiled fearlessly at each other. The racial divide between
the two of them no longer mattered. They fought not out of discrimination or
hatred, but for their own ideals. Both men raised their treasured weapons
high. Their bodies blazed with fighting spirit. But just as the two of them
were about to clash—
“Purify everything— Divine Blaze.”
“Tear him to pieces, Vanadis!”
“Repent, sinners— Arrows of Atonement!”
A dome of fire spread out around the two combatants, clearing away the
mist in a ten-meter radius around them. At the same time, a pure white wolf
rushed at Sim from behind while a steel arrow came at him from the side. By
the time he turned around, the wolf’s jaws were close enough to blot out
everything else. He quickly raised his halberd to defend, but he was too late.
The wolf’s jaws ripped through his flank, while the steel arrow pierced his
left thigh. The arrow ripped right through his leg and shot through his right
thigh as well, leaving a trail of blood as it flew past.
“Ngghh!”
While his halberd was keeping the wolf’s jaws from ripping out his flank
entirely, the arrow’s damage caused his legs to give out. Unable to push the
wolf back, he was sent flying as the wolf tossed its head. As he sailed through
the air, Sim spotted his new enemies. A female knight wielding a magnificent
bow—one of the Holy Templar Knights brigade commanders, Lelaie
Argeson—and a man who was panting heavily—the vice commander of the
Holy Templar Knights, Araym Orcman. Aside from those two, there was also
the knight riding the giant white wolf. He had short, blue hair, narrow, slit-
like eyes, and a scar on his cheek, and he looked to be in his mid-thirties. He
was obviously one of the Paragons of Light, and he had a sturdy steel spear in
his hands.
“Pay for your sins— Holy Lance!”

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He thrust his spear forward with blistering speed. As he did, motes of light
began to gather around the spear’s tip. This man, Godel Goth, was the vice-
commander of the Paragons of Light. His affinity for light magic was
exceptionally high, and his skills as a spearman were top-class. There was
nothing his Holy Lance couldn’t pierce. Time seemed to slow for Sim as he
watched the spear’s tip grow closer. He knew instinctively that Godel’s attack
would kill him. He shivered as he watched his death draw closer.

“General!”
A lone arrow came out of the blue. It traveled just as fast as Lelaie’s had,
and it pierced Sim’s shoulder, tearing through both flesh and bone. Though it
dealt Sim a grievous wound, it forcibly moved him out of the lance’s
trajectory, saving his life.
“Thanks, Nascis! You saved my life!” Sim shouted as he landed on his
knees. Nascis Fluke, the elven 1000-man infantry captain, slowly lowered his
bow, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
“All units, support the general! Squads one through three, focus your fire
on the flame user, the bow user, and the spear user!”
Nascis swiftly barked out orders and started shooting his bow as fast as he
could. With each shot, he fired a total of nine arrows. Each of those arrows
were aimed perfectly at either Araym, Lelaie, or Godel’s vitals. Nascis’ skill
was so godlike it might as well have been magic. The rest of his archers
followed their captain’s example and started firing volley after volley. The
other knights who weren’t being targeted by Nascis’ squad rushed the
beastmen.
“Alright you louts, it’s time to show what you’re made of! Protect Nascis’
men with your lives!” an old dwarf shouted, his voice bellowing across the
battlefield. Despite his age, he didn’t look the least bit frail. Though he was
quite short, his muscles were a match for Detref and Sim. He was the
commander of the beastmen’s heavy infantry, Gou Bacchus. Among his
peers, he was known as the iron fortress for his sturdy defensive fighting
style, and he, along with his men, quickly raised their tower shields to form a
shield wall in front of Nascis’ archers. Most of the Celestial Flashes
unleashed by the Templar Knights missed their mark entirely, but those that
didn’t were stopped cold by Gou’s wall of steel. Meanwhile, other beastmen
took care of the federation soldiers who were rushing in.
Seeing that Nascis’ squad couldn’t be dealt with right away, Araym was

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forced to focus his fire on shooting down arrows, while Lelaie fought back
with her own archery. Godel used his wolf’s agility to dance out of the way
of the barrage, using his spear to block any arrows that got too close. Even
though all three of them were being pelted with hundreds of arrows a second,
their superhuman skills allowed them to prevent even one from hitting. That
being said, they were forced to remain entirely on the defensive, and so
couldn’t focus on Sim.

Annoyed, Godel shouted, “Detref, what’re you doing!? Hurry up and kill
that brute!”

At long last, Detref had found a worthy opponent. But just as he’d been
preparing for the duel of his life, he’d been blindsided by the appearance of
Araym and the others. Though their arrival hadn’t caught him totally by
surprise, he’d been at a loss for what to do. Sighing, he watched as a deluge
of orange light poured down on Sim, healing his wounds. The former king
hefted his massive claymore onto his shoulder.

“Sorry, but that’s just how war is,” he said somewhat apologetically.
“Don’t sweat it. I know,” Sim replied casually, and Detref gave him a sad
smile.
Yeah... This beastman’s definitely more human than any of the humans
I’ve been around lately. He couldn’t even say that aloud to Sim, for fear of
being branded a heretic. So he clamped down on his feelings and dashed
forward. But before he could reach Sim, a flash of light illuminated the fog
overhead.
Sim and Detref looked up in surprise, while Godel and the others
jubilantly shouted, “Finally!”
A second later, an explosion loud enough to rupture eardrums resounded
throughout the battlefield. Nascis and the other archers stopped shooting
momentarily, utterly shocked.
In a pained voice, Sim shouted, “Wait, are they bombing the forest!?”
As he spoke, successive explosions rippled out from the forest. Thanks to
their enhanced hearing, the beastmen were more or less able to pinpoint the
location of the explosions. They knew the church was bombing the area
around the Grand Tree.
“Impossible...are they attacking from outside the barrier’s range!? But that
means they’re kilometers away...”
Judging by the flashes of light shooting overhead, Sim had deduced that

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the Paragons of Light were having their dragons fire at the Grand Tree from a
distance, rather than dropping bombs from directly overhead. However, they
wouldn’t be able to aim within the fog. A concentrated barrage would be
impossible. If they were firing from within the fog, most of their attacks
would land near the edge of the forest. Meaning they had to be firing from
outside the fog’s effective radius. While the church had plenty of powerful
knights, the only people capable of causing such destruction at such range
should be Mulm and his dragon Adra’s breath. And the two of them were
supposed to be fighting Miledi. There was no way Miledi would let them out
of her sight long enough to allow them to start bombing.

Let us rewind time to a few minutes before the bombing began. While the
beastmen were struggling on the ground, Miledi was locked in a fierce duel
in the air. As always, she was facing Laus, who was being supported by
Mulm and Adra, as well as a number of Holy Templar Knights and Paragons
of Light.

Their lineup’s a bit different today... They brought out less of their strong
captains, but there’s twice as many of them now. Despite being in the middle
of a life-and-death struggle with Laus, Miledi was still able to calmly analyze
her situation. Like Badd, she’d asked Lyutillis to remove the fog around her
to prevent the knights’ attacks from accidentally hitting other people. As a
result, Laus didn’t need Araym’s Divine Blaze to keep the area clear, and
Lelaie’s arrows weren’t as powerful as Mulm’s anyway, so she wouldn’t be
missed. However, their absence only made Miledi more worried. As Laus
and Miledi knocked each other away, Mulm fired a blisteringly fast barrage
of arrows at her, forcing her to use gravity magic to strike them down.

“Oh my, it’s hard being this popular! Boys, boys, I know you’re all
smitten with me, but you shouldn’t spend all your time pining after me!”
Miledi taunted, provocatively raising her skirt. Naturally, she didn’t forget
her ultra-annoying smile.

As expected, her taunts got a rise out of the knights, and they started
shouting things like “Don’t get so full of yourself!” and “Laugh while you
still can!” While I still can? What’s that supposed to mean? Do they have
some plan to deal with me?

“You’re wide open,” Laus said flatly. Indeed, Miledi had let herself get
distracted for a second too long. For the second time this month, Laus slipped

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around to her side and smashed her ribs with a well-placed hammerblow. As
she flew through the air, a barrage of arrows chased after her. They rained
down from above in a torrent so thick, it covered the sun. Mulm was
probably thinking it’d be harder for Miledi to knock them all down with
gravity if gravity was bringing them towards her. At the same time, two
hundred dragons unleashed their breath attacks from below, cutting off her
avenue of retreat. At the center was a ten-meter wide aurora of light— Adra’s
breath.

“Don’t underestimate the power of a genius mage— Spatial Severance!”
The two orbs circling around Miledi wouldn’t be able to deflect
everything. So she created another swirling vortex of gravity to absorb
Adra’s aurora. It contained so much energy that it nearly ruptured her Spatial
Severance, but it held. With the aurora gone, Miledi was free to fall toward
the ground. As she did so, she used her remaining gravity spheres to either
redirect or absorb any breath attacks or arrows that got too close. She then
quickly reoriented herself as she spotted Laus chasing after her out of the
corner of her eye. Using her transmitter earring, she contacted Meiru and
shouted, “Meru-nee!”
“I’m already on it, Miledi-chan!”
Another volley of arrows, breath attacks, and a lone aurora beam shot
toward her. Laus continued closing in on her, weaving through the barrage.
The 300 Holy Templar Knights formed up in a ring around the edge of the
arena, ensuring Miledi couldn’t try and escape into the fog. Miledi continued
dodging the endless assault, trying to buy herself time until Meiru was ready.
Seconds later, a gentle orange rain fell upon her, healing her battered body.
As always, Meiru had Miledi’s back. However this time, Meiru’s healing
came with a warning.
“Miledi-chan, try not to get more hurt! I kind of have my hands full right
now!”
“What’s happening on the ground!?”
It was Lyutillis who answered. She’d been keeping an eye on the overall
situation from Naiz’s portals, so she had a better grasp of things than Meiru.
“We’re being pushed back. Moreover, the battle lines are getting stretched
to the north and the south. The enemy’s sending even their most wounded to
attack us.”
“What...? Why would they...?”

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“Our casualties are mounting. Most of our men aren’t able to retreat to
Onee-sama’s field hospital in time.”

“No wonder Meru-nee’s having a hard time— Whoa!”
Miledi just barely avoided Laus’ next swing, then struck down his follow-
up Soul Shock with a gravity wave. Much like Miledi, Laus was constantly
being showered with healing magic from his allies to keep him in perfect
shape. As Miledi attempted to re-establish her telepathic link with Meiru and
the others, she launched a barrage of Celestial Flashes in all directions.
Though each of her thousand light shockwaves were small, they had as
much power as a Celestial Flash unleashed by a Holy Templar Knight. The
knights were both nonplussed and enraged. Their anger harmed their
coordination, allowing Miledi to slip through the gaps in their attacks.
“Miledi-tan, I’m going to pull the battle lines back.”
“But won’t that mean the forest will take damage? Didn’t you say
regenerating parts of the forest takes a ton of mana?”
“We have Onee-sama so that shouldn’t be as much of a problem. Though
it irks me to grant them a foothold into the forest, I fear we have little choice
right now.”
“Gotcha... Well, my job hasn’t changed at least! I just have to distract as
many—”
“You’re far too careless,” Laus muttered, interrupting Miledi.
“Wha—!?”
Miledi hadn’t actually let her guard down. She’d been keeping an eye on
Laus this whole time. In fact, she could still see him glaring at her a short
distance away. And yet, that voice had come from behind her. Feeling
goosebumps rising on her arms, Miledi turned around. As she did so, she felt
an impact on her chest. A translucent Laus had just buried his palm into her
ribs.
“Soul Purge!”
“Ah!?”
Miledi could hear Naiz and Lyutillis screaming something into her ear,
but she couldn’t make the words out. All of her five senses felt like they’d
been dampened. It was like she’d lost control of her own body. There was
one thing she was sure of though. I-Is that me!? And that was that she was
looking at her own body. Somehow, she was standing behind herself. She had
no idea what was going on. However, she couldn’t move her body at all,

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meaning she was utterly defenseless. Panic spread through her and she
desperately tried to move, but not only was she paralyzed, her magic had also
been canceled too. Without her gravity magic, Miledi started falling.

“I finally caught you.”
The translucent Laus vanished while the real one came forward and bound
Miledi’s limp body with chains of light. At the same time, chains of pure
black mana bound Miledi’s other body, the one looking at the real her. This
was the one that currently housed her consciousness, and it was translucent.
“Huh? What? How?”
Looking down, Miledi noticed her hands, feet, and body were all glowing
a pale, sky-blue, and were partially see-through.
“Wh-What did you—!?”
“I separated your soul from your body,” Laus said gruffly, panting as he
held the light chains in one hand and the dark chains in the other. The spirit
magic Laus had used, Soul Purge, allowed him to force a person’s soul out of
their body. He’d used Solid Specter to project his own soul behind Miledi,
then used his real body as bait while his spirit closed in on her.
“But you never used a skill like this be—”
“I only just perfected it last night. Did you think I was just playing around
for this past half month?”
Miledi gritted her teeth at that. She couldn’t believe how careless she’d
been. But what hurt even more was the look in Laus’ eyes. He was
disappointed in her. She’d told him she’d show him hope, that she’d prove he
could live his life the way he wanted to, but then she’d gone and lost
spectacularly. Of course she’d been one against many, and she’d started
getting complacent because she was starting to get used to their movements,
and she’d been a little distracted because the assault today had been out of the
ordinary. There were plenty of factors that had contributed to her defeat, but
in the end, they were all excuses. The fact of the matter was that Laus had
taken advantage of those little openings she’d shown and thoroughly
trounced her. Miledi desperately tried to return to her own body, but the black
chains, which were likely another manner of spirit magic, held her fast. Out
of the corner of her eye, she could see Mulm and the other knights cheering
as they approached Laus.
“What are you...”
...planning on doing to me? Before she could finish her thought, Laus

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looked south and said in a monotone voice, “It’s over. Your dream of a free
world... only led to needless sacrifices.”

Miledi opened her mouth to argue, but when she saw what was coming
from the south, her words died in her throat. A storm of meteors blew past
Miledi and Laus, blasting a hole through the mist barrier protecting the forest.
Upon closer inspection, Miledi realized the meteors were actually balls of
glowing blue fire. Each one was easily ten meters in diameter, and Miledi
suddenly understood that they were all Azure Blazes, the strongest fire spell.

But they weren’t ordinary Azure Blazes. An expert like Miledi could tell
at a glance that each Azure Blaze had the mana of ten packed into one, and
was wrapped in wind magic that helped guide the missiles over a long-range.
There was only one place that raised mages strong enough to craft such
spells.

“This is... the Grandort Empire’s doing!”
Miledi’s former homeland. As she’d once been a Grandort noble, she
naturally knew what kind of siege magic its best mages were capable of.
“The other Liberators are protecting the queen, aren’t they? Meaning even
if we burn the forest down, they’ll keep her safe.”
“Ngh... I see. Nacchan, you have to protect Lyu-chan!” Miledi’s ghostly
body shouted. But as her earring was on her real body, naturally her pleas
went unheard.
A second later, shockwaves rippled across the battlefield as the fireballs
made impact. The explosions blew away the mist around the forest.
“Ngh! Gah! Miledi! Are you okay!? Say something! The enemy’s to the
south! Can you hear me!?” Naiz shouted. He’d opened a portal next to Miledi
to let his voice reach her directly. It seemed he’d blocked the first volley with
his spatial barriers. The fog had been removed voluntarily by Lyutillis too, to
help Miledi see where her foes were. Miledi directed her gaze far to the south
and saw over a hundred airships arrayed in three vertical rows heading
toward the forest. All of the airships were flying the Grandort Empire’s flags
from their mainmasts. Their sails were engraved with massive magic circles,
and those sails were all radiating light. These were the empire’s famous siege
warships.
“Miledi!? Did he beat you!? What happened!?”
It was only after looking through the portal that Naiz realized what kind of
state Miledi was in.

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“Nacchan! Don’t worry about me, just keep the capital safe!”
Unfortunately, her words were much quieter in her spirit form, and Naiz
couldn’t hear her. It was a struggle to even maintain her form, much less
affect the physical world. If a person’s true power lies in their soul, then I
should be able to do something, right!? Now’s the time to unlock your hidden
potential, Miledi Reisen! But no matter how hard she struggled, no hidden
wellspring of power gushed forth. While she did feel like there was some
untapped well of power inside her, she didn’t seem able to access it.
Fortunately, her expression conveyed what she wanted to say well enough,
and Naiz momentarily gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do.
“So that’s where she is?” Laus muttered, sensing Lyutillis’ presence
through the portal Naiz had opened. Realizing he was leaking info to the
enemy, he quickly closed the gate.
“Good work, Laus. I knew you’d capture that heretic eventually! Allow
me to bear witness as you pass divine judgment onto her!” Mulm said
excitedly as he flew over to Laus.
He and the other knights looked at Miledi with a fanatical gleam in their
eyes. One of the knights started chanting “Punish the heretic!” and the others
soon picked it up. Laus manipulated the chains, raising Miledi’s spirit body
and her real body until they were resting in front of him. She was being lifted
up like a prisoner being brought to the gallows. Or in her case, a martyr being
brought to the cross.
Laus and Miledi faced each other. From her peripheral vision, Miledi
could see the airships readying a second volley.
“Do you have any last words?” Laus asked, his eyes devoid of emotion.
Miledi’s real body was slumped over, but her spirit resolutely met his
gaze. Laus narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her expression. Even though she
was about to be killed, she seemed oddly composed. And though she was just
a translucent ghost now, her sky-blue eyes were shimmering with more light
than ever. She made her trademark annoying grin and said, “Nope, no last
words.”
“Do you think I won’t kill you?”
“Oh I know you will,” Miledi said, shaking her head. Her grin settled into
a composed smile.
The other knights watched on in indignation, incensed that this heretic
wasn’t despairing.

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“I’ve been prepared for death since the moment I started down this path.”
A shimmering earth-brown three-kilometer wide dome appeared around
the Grand Tree, protecting that section of forest. Naiz had deployed his
spatial barrier. Thanks to Lyutillis’ evolution magic, his barrier was large
enough to protect not just the capital, but the surrounding villages as well.
Miledi was confident he’d be able to block the next attack. And the next one,
and the next one. She had absolute faith in her comrade.
“But I won’t die here. I’m sure of it.”
Taken aback, Laus gave her a questioning look. How can she be so sure?
“Why, you ask? Well, that’s obvious!”
Miledi’s annoying grin returned.
“Because I have the best friends in the world!”
A second later, there was a thunderous explosion, and about 40% of the
empire’s airships got blown apart. Most of those that got hit looked like they
were part of the flagship fleet too. The explosion shattered their masts, which
were what cast the mage’s siege spells, as well as the magic engines located
on the ships’ sterns. The damaged ships began to tilt as they fell to the
ground. The explosion was followed up by a downburst of ice, snow, and
moonlight-colored mana, which froze the remaining ships’ masts, disabling
their weapons. Then, just to make completely sure the empire’s fleet was
neutralized, a hailstorm of enchanted swords rained down on the ships. The
frozen masts shattered to pieces, and the few ships who’d managed to escape
the onslaught had their engines and sails petrified by a follow-up of homing
blades. Once the dust had settled, only a scant twenty ships remained in the
air. They managed to get off another volley, but there was no way such a
small barrage would even crack Naiz’s barrier. As expected, the twenty or so
fireballs fizzled out upon hitting the glimmering dome. While Laus, Mulm,
and the other knights were still recovering from the shock of what they’d just
seen, a portal opened up next to Miledi and Meiru hopped out of it.
“I’ll be taking my precious Miledi-chan back, thank you very much!”
“Ah!?”
A torrent of water appeared out of nowhere, sweeping the nearby knights
away. At the same time, the current surrounded Laus and Miledi, trapping
them inside. Water was Meiru’s element, and she reigned supreme wherever
it could be found. Being underwater forced Laus to hold his breath and
slowed his movements down, which prevented him from dodging Meiru’s

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whip attacks.
“Gah!”
Laus screamed in pain, releasing a few precious bubbles of air. With his

breathing and concentration disrupted, his magic crumbled, and the chains
binding Miledi’s body and soul disappeared.

“Miledi-chan, are you okay!?”
“I’m fine, I can move! Wait, I’m being sucked back!”
It appeared souls and bodies were attracted to each other like magnets.
Though she wasn’t doing anything, Miledi’s soul was being pulled back to
her body. Once the two overlapped, Meiru dispelled her water prison. She
rode her current over to Miledi and scooped her up in her arms. Once she was
out of the water Miledi coughed and opened her eyes.
“I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Thank you Meru-nee, I love you!”
“Yes yes, I love you too, Miledi-chan.”
Miledi floated up into the air, then put one hand on her hip and raised the
other above her head, making her trademark pose. She then turned south and
saw that the remaining few airships had been shot down by a storm of ice
breath and enchanted weapons. Before all the airships could crash onto the
ground, a giant golem appeared out of nowhere to gently lower them down.
Many of the ones it couldn’t reach with its hands it caught with the numerous
chains that shot out of its body. A hundred or so wyverns also came out of
nowhere to catch the few remaining ships and slow their fall. Of course, the
mages on the ships tried to fire at the wyverns and the golem, but the sudden
change in the situation had left them disoriented. Their half-baked
counterattacks didn’t even register to the two people who’d shot them down.
Flying in the air a short distance above the burning airships was a massive
ice dragon, and standing atop that dragon’s back was a bespectacled youth in
black clothes.

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“Ahahhahahahaha! You guys are so late! I was getting sick of waiting!”
A flood of relief washed over Miledi. Her voice filled with emotion, she
called out to her two comrades.
“O-kun! Van-chan!”
Despite the distance, her voice reached Oscar and Vandre. The two of
them turned to her for a brief moment, then returned to cleaning up the
empire’s aerial unit. Vandre’s breath was so powerful even the demon lord
had been forced to evade it, so there was no chance the remaining airship
squads could withstand it.
A few people tried to launch anti-air attacks against Vandre, but Oscar
deployed his umbrella’s barrier, as well as the six Onyx Shield Artifacts he’d
created by incorporating Naiz’s spatial magic and Miledi’s gravity magic. On
top of that, he also rained down enchanted swords on anyone trying to attack
them.
“Oscar Orcus and... a new ancient magic user? I see. So they weren’t here
this whole time...”
The knights, which had finally escaped from Meiru’s current, surrounded
Miledi and Meiru. Laus was to the girls’ right, while Mulm was to their left.
Though most of the knights looked indignant, Laus’ tone was surprisingly
calm as he glanced at the havoc Oscar and Vandre were wreaking.
“So what now? You wanna keep going? Just so you know, I’m in top
shape now!” Miledi said with a wide grin. She shook her hips a little to taunt
them. Technically, her job was to keep as many knights as possible bogged
down here while Lyutillis retreated the battle lines, which was why she was
being so provocative.
“Oh, Miledi-chan. You’ve gotten so much more confident after Oscar-kun
came back. It’s amazing how much you’re like a third-rate thug who gets
ahead of themselves once their boss shows up to help!”
“Bwahahahahaha! Praise me mo— Hang on, who’re you calling a thug?”
Miledi turned to glare at Meiru. The knights grew even more furious as
their opponents joked around in front of them. They looked like they were
about to lose it. Meiru looked for an opportunity to return to her post and help
with the retreat while Miledi smiled fearlessly at the knights, waiting for
round two to begin. However, it appeared there would be no round two.
“Ah...! Did you hear that, Mulm?”
“Bah, I despise being forced to wait, but I suppose we have no choice.”

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Laus and Mulm exchanged glances, seemingly responding to some order
they received.

“Retreat!” Laus boomed.
The other knights, all of whom had expected this to be the final battle
where they used up everything they had, looked nonplussed. Normally, this
would be where Miledi taunted them as she had back in Andika.
“Wait, you’re leaving?”
But even she was surprised by their sudden decision. Laus, who was
bringing up the rearguard, said, “Got a problem with that?”
“Not really, but... what’re you scheming?”
Before Laus could reply, Naiz’s voice echoed in Miledi’s ear. According
to him, even the crazed federation troops were retreating.
“Were the empire’s airships your trump card? Are you leaving because we
beat them?”
“Who knows.”
“Grr... Damn baldy!”
Mulm and Adra stuck close to Laus, ready to defend against any attacks
Miledi might throw at them while they retreated. Likewise, Meiru stood next
to Miledi to guard her, her water whip at the ready. Miledi and Laus
exchanged glances.
“I won’t disappoint you again,” Miledi said in a determined voice.
“...Next time, I’ll just kill you,” Laus replied coolly.
Both of them spoke in voices low enough that only the other could hear.
After a few seconds, Laus turned on his heel and strode away. He wasn’t the
least bit worried that Miledi might try to strike him from behind. For her part,
Miledi observed Laus until he was finally obscured by the mist.
“Are you okay, Miledi-chan? You got all tingly and strange when that old
man touched you, right?”
“Meru-nee, please don’t phrase it like that.”
Meiru’s choice of words made it sound like Laus was some kind of
pervert. Miledi gave Meiru a pointed look, but the serious atmosphere Meiru
had dispelled returned soon enough when she started thinking about today’s
attack. Everything about it had been strange, but then the church had just
retreated without putting so much as a dent into the forest. Sighing, Miledi
looked southward. The few airships still airworthy were also retreating. The
soldiers who’d been aboard the downed ships scurried out of the wreckages

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and beat a hasty retreat toward Agris. Vandre and Oscar watched silently as
the soldiers left. Seeing as the empire’s mages had no intention to attack,
Oscar stowed his Shadow Emperor and looked back at Miledi. But before he
could say anything, Vandre swiped his tail at Oscar, swatting him off his
back.

“Ah.”
“Oh my.”
The tail slap produced a very meaty thwack. At the same time Miledi and
Meiru heard Vandre shout, “How long are you planning on staying on my
back, you damned four-eyes!” in the distance. Miledi’s eyes glazed over
while Meiru put her hands on her cheeks and watched with an entertained
smile. Oscar naturally didn’t take the hit lying down, and he quickly used his
Onyx Boots to jump up to Vandre’s eye level. Once he was there he flashed a
beam of light from his glasses, momentarily blinding the dragon. While
Vandre covered his eyes with his forelimbs and screamed “My eyeeeees!”
Oscar took his umbrella and smacked Vandre over the head with it, sending
Vandre flying. Oscar’s personal philosophy was to give back twice as much
as he received, in all things. Of course from there things devolved into a
slapfest.
“Die, you damned four-eyes!”
“Only if you die first, you oversized lizard!”
Miledi had expected ice breath and enchanted swords to be flying in every
direction, but Vandre canceled his transformation and fought Oscar in close
combat. The sounds of their weapons clashing could be heard all the way
from where Miledi and Meiru were.
“Jeez, why are those two always like this! Stop fighting and pay attention
to me already!”
Miledi rushed over to Oscar and Vandre so fast she left sonic booms in
her wake. She’d been looking forward to their reunion for so long, and it had
all been ruined because Oscar and Vandre kept fighting instead of talking to
her. And so, to attract the two men’s attention, she hit them both with a
Heavensfall. Meiru, on the other hand, stayed behind and put on the glasses
Oscar had made for her to zoom in on the action. She watched as Miledi sent
the two men careening to the ground, then hurtled after them and swept them
both up in hugs with a smile on her face.
“Uwoooooh!? Badd!? What the heck are you doing!? Seriously, stop

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swinging that at me!”
“Shut up, you traitoooooor!”
“Traitor!? What’re you talking about!?”
“Don’t play dumb! Or is that just how you get your kicks, huh!? You

better at least invite me to the wedding ceremony when you marry Mikaela,
you lucky son of a bitch!”

“U-Umm, Mikaela and I aren’t—”
“A grown-ass man like you shouldn’t be blushing like
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!”
“Whoa!? What the hell, man! I just saved your hide from that crazy
Templar Knight lady! Someone, stop Badd! This guy’s going on a jealous
rampage!”
Miledi and the others suddenly heard that exchange through their earrings.
It seemed Mikaela had guided Marshal to Badd’s aid during the fighting, and
after Marshal saved Badd’s life, Badd attacked him in a jealous frenzy. As
unfathomable as that situation was, apparently that was reality.
“Men just never grow up, do they,” Meiru muttered.
“Please don’t include me in that assessment,” Naiz said with an
exasperated sigh.
“Onee-sama, this is exactly why women should marry women,” Lyutillis
said excitedly.
Meiru ignored both of them and returned to the ground so she could
punish Badd and start healing the wounded. Since everyone had switched
their earrings to auto-transmit, Meiru could hear Miledi’s laughter as she
exulted in her reunion with Oscar and Vandre. She smiled to herself as she
set about healing everyone.

“You finally made it, Oscar, Van! I missed you guys!” Naiz shouted.
Now that Meiru had healed the wounded and the battle lines had been
reorganized, the Liberators had all gathered in Lyutillis’ throne room. Tears
welled up in his eyes as Naiz ran up to his two comrades. He completely
ignored Lyutillis, who looked like she’d been about to give a speech, and
hugged Oscar and Vandre as though he hadn’t seen them in decades.
“N-Naiz? What happened to you, man?”
“Oi. Since when were you such a sappy guy, Naiz?”
Oscar seemed confused, while Vandre looked at Naiz like he was a

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pervert. Naiz took a step back and said with a smile, “You have no idea how
hard it was to look after Miledi and Meiru by myself.”

“......”
Oscar and Vandre exchanged glances. After a brief moment of silence,
they nodded to each other and gently placed a hand on Naiz’s shoulders.
They were both smiling kindly at him, their previous arguments forgotten.
“You did good, Naiz.”
“Be proud of yourself, Naiz. You’re a true hero.”
“Thank you, guys... Now that you’re here, maybe my heartburn will
finally go away.”
The three men hugged in solidarity. Friendship between men was a truly
beautiful thing.
“Did you hear that, Miledi-chan? That’s quite rude, wouldn’t you say?”
“Totally! You know, I had to take on all of the church’s best knights all
by myself! Everyone should be praising me and calling me their angel! No,
their goddess! What did I do to deserve this slander!?”
“I understand completely! Do you know how hard I worked healing all
those people!? I even got a headache from using too much mana! Everyone
should be licking my feet right now!”
It seemed the girls were not happy with Naiz’s portrayal of their actions.
Oscar and the others turned toward Miledi and Meiru. After a few seconds of
staring, they clapped each other on the shoulders again. The bonds between
the guys had just grown even stronger.
“Man, that looks so nice. So that’s what true friendship between men is
like. You know, I used to have someone I was that close with. But in the end,
he picked hos over bros.”
“Oh shut up already! You’ve been whining for hours now! Act your age,
you old geezer!”
“Say that to my face, you dick! Don’t think you’re better than me just
cause you’ve got a wife now, Marshal!”
However, the bonds between these two men were... not growing stronger
at least. If anything, it was Marshal and Mikaela’s bonds that were growing.
While Badd was going off on his jealous rant, the two of them glanced
surreptitiously at each other, blushed, then looked away.
“L-Like I said, she’s not my wife yet...”
“E-Exactly! Badd-san, I’m just Marshal-san’s...”

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“Mikaela...”
“Marshal-san...”
“Gaaaaaah! Fuck this! Quit flirting in public, you horndogs! What are
you, teenagers!?”
Miledi and the others all simultaneously thought, I can’t believe you’re
willing to show this side of you in front of Lyutillis. You know, the girl you’ve
fallen for. This is why you can never score.
“Ahem... Have you finished celebrating your reunion?” Parsha asked
coldly. They were all technically in the presence of the queen right now.
At this point, most of the important members of the republic knew how
close Lyutillis was to Miledi and the others, so they just smiled awkwardly.
While they respected Lyutillis, they knew she didn’t want to interrupt the
Liberators’ reunion, and honestly even they felt bad about breaking them
apart. As a result, Parsha was the only one willing to move things along.
Oscar was the first to notice her glare and he quickly straightened up.
“My apologies. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Oscar
Orcus, a member of the Liberators. The ancient magic I can use is creation
magic. I am deeply grateful that you allowed us into this hallowed
sanctuary.”
Oscar dropped to one knee and placed a hand over his breast as he
introduced himself. But like Miledi, he didn’t lower his head and instead met
Lyutillis’ gaze. Vandre also placed a hand over his chest, but he didn’t kneel.
Instead, he just bowed and said, “Likewise. I am Vandre Schnee, another
Liberator. My magic is metamorphosis magic. And while I have since
abandoned my title, I am the half brother of the current demon lord, Rasul
Alva Igdol. As the demon lord’s younger brother, I’m afraid I cannot bend
the knee to you.”
Vandre knew he was probably overthinking things, but still, it would feel
like tarnishing his brother’s reputation if he, a representative of the demon
empire, knelt to the queen of the beastmen republic. Miledi and the others
understood that, which was why they didn’t admonish him and just smiled.
However, while they doubted Lyutillis would be offended, they still shot a
worried glance in her direction.
“My... The demon lord’s younger brother, you say? That explains a great
deal. I was wondering why in your dragon form your scales were the color of
a demon’s skin, but now I understand.”

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Lyutillis smiled with all the grace and magnanimity of a wise queen and
nodded to Vandre.

“Worry not. You two have both shown me the utmost courtesy.”
Oscar breathed a sigh of relief, while Vandre bowed silently.
“I am the republic’s queen, Lyutillis Haltina. The ancient magic I wield is
evolution magic. It is an honor to meet both of you. And thank you so very
much for eliminating the empire’s airships.”
“We’re Liberators.”
“Helping people is our job; we don’t need any thanks. I’m sure that’s
what our leader would say too.”
Oscar and Vandre turned to Miledi. She puffed her chest out and smiled
proudly. Seeing that, Lyutillis brought a hand to her mouth and chuckled
elegantly. From that interaction alone, Oscar and Vandre surmised that
Miledi and the queen had probably grown quite close already, which was
both a relief and, in retrospect, par for the course for Miledi.
“Incidentally, how would you two prefer to be addressed?”
“Err, I’m sure just using our names like normal will be—”
“Should I call you O-kun-san, and Van-chan-san?”
“Where did that come from!?” Oscar and Vandre shouted simultaneously.
They were so in sync that the other beastmen started to wonder if Oscar
and Vandre weren’t actually really close. Considering the regal and elegant
Queen Lyutillis had suddenly transformed into a friendly airhead, their
reaction was understandable. However, this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Recently, Sim and the others had begun to learn just how much of an airhead
Lyutillis actually was, and they knew what was coming next.
“Miledi-tan, it’s fine if I call them that, right?”
“Miledi...tan!?”
So you were behind this! I can’t believe you told a queen to call us that!
Oscar and Vandre thought, rounding on their leader. They’d been expecting
her to be wearing her usual smug grin, but to their surprise, Miledi looked a
little hesitant. As if she truly wasn’t sure if she wanted to allow Lyutillis to
use those nicknames. But then she grinned, making Oscar wonder if that
earlier expression had just been his imagination.
“Hmm, well, since you’re using Nacchan-san for Nacchan, you might as
well standardize it and call them Occhan-san and Van-chan-san.”
For some reason, Meiru smiled and muttered, “Oh my...” when she heard

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that, but Oscar and Vandre were too distracted by the bombshell Miledi had
dropped to notice.

“Naiz...kun. Does the queen really call you Nacchan-san?”
“She does.”
“That’s fucked up, Naiz.”
“It is.”
Naiz looked off into the distance. He was trying his best to ignore the
reality in front of him.
“Now now, Miledi-chan. Don’t you think making everyone’s nicknames
the same is a little too plain?”
“Hey, Meiru. Don’t decide our nicknames based on how entertaining they
are to you!”
Vandre tried to head Meiru off before she could make the situation any
more convoluted, but if Meiru was that easy to stop then Naiz wouldn’t have
had so much trouble.
“Hmm, yeah you’re right! In that case, how about you call O-kun the Fake
Gentleman with Evil Glasses and Van-chan the Tsundere Prince? I think—
Aaah!” Miledi screamed as Oscar shined a beam of light directly into her
eyes while Vandre grabbed her face in an iron grip.
“Your Majesty. Please just call me Oscar, and this guy Van.”
Oscar’s glasses sparkled dangerously as he said that.
“But that’s so plain...” Lyutillis muttered, dejected. She’d been hoping to
use nicknames to get closer to Oscar and Vandre, but they’d turned her down.
However, Lyutillis wasn’t going to let this keep her down. As a former loner,
her desire for new friends was greater than anything. Spotting a new
opportunity, Lyutillis quickly changed targets. She looked behind Oscar and
Vandre to Marshal and Mikaela, both of whom were kneeling silently.
“I’d like to hear more about you two. Specifically, about your love lives!”
Marshal and Mikaela both looked floored. They hadn’t expected the
queen to even address them directly, much less ask about their relationship. It
was even more unnerving because they weren’t actually going out yet.
Incidentally, Badd’s eyes filled with jealousy the moment he heard Lyutillis
address them. And while Lyutillis was very dense when it came to most
things, she was surprisingly sharp at noticing Badd’s expressions.
“Oh my,” she murmured, blushing and bringing a hand to her mouth.
“Badd-dono, that is quite an intense glare... Is this what a love triangle is

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like!?”
“Huh? Wait, hang on! I’m not—”
“I see Mikaela-dono is quite popular among the Liberators. To think there

would be two men so desperate for her affections.”
“What!?”
“She certainly is a wonderful lady. I hope we can be friends, Mikaela-

dono. Incidentally, would it be alright if I called you Mika-chan?”
“What!?”
Mikaela looked incredibly flustered. She’d never dealt with a queen

before. Someone of her stature would normally never even be in the presence
of a queen, much less talk to one. She’d expected to just stand quietly in the
back while Miledi and the others did all the talking, but now she was the
center of attention. Even the other beastmen were looking at her. Mikaela
looked over at Miledi, silently pleading for her Leader to help her. Miledi
gave Mikaela a confident nod that said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”

“Hey, Mika-nee. Is it cool if I start calling you Mika-chan too then?”
That’s not the kind of help I was looking for! Mikaela thought, panicking.
“Oh, I suppose that would make Marshal Ma-chan wouldn’t it?” Meiru
suggested innocently.
“Huh?” Marshal asked.
“What a splendid suggestion, Onee-sama!”
“WHAT!?”
Now Marshal was panicking too. Meanwhile, Oscar and Vandre were
freaking out over the fact that the queen was calling Meiru onee-sama, and
Badd was ready to kill Marshal over the fact that Lyutillis had given him a
nickname before Badd. He seemed to have forgotten that it was he himself
who’d told Lyutillis she couldn’t call him Ba-chan. In short, the throne room
had fallen into chaos. Though Lyutillis was quite happy, since it seemed she
could make quite a few new friends. Her facade of an elegant and regal queen
had all but crumbled at this point. But while everyone knew she was a bit of
an airhead, her masochistic side was still a secret from the other beastmen.
Now even that truth threatened to reveal itself, and Parsha knew she had to
take action.
“On second thought, I really do think you two need nicknames, Oscar-san,
Van-san—”
“Your Majesty. We don’t have much time. You can deepen your bonds

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with everyone later, but for now please just use their names. I’m sure they’re
fine with that too. Understood?” Parsha said, glowering.

Parsha could be surprisingly forceful when she wanted to. In fact, she was
more queenly than Lyutillis—which was probably why the actual queen
shrunk back in the face of her wrath. Parsha also glared at Miledi and Meiru,
quieting them with a single cat-eyed look. She then went on to cow every
other unruly child in the throne room until order had been restored. Finally,
everyone began discussing casualty reports, the church’s movements, and the
republic’s plan moving forward. It was during this meeting that Lyutillis
explained her powers over the forest and the mist barrier to Oscar and
Vandre. Once everyone had been caught up to speed, Miledi turned to Oscar
and said, “So that’s the situation right now, O-kun. You said earlier that
Shushu and the others didn’t come, but...”

“Yeah, it was just Marshal and Mikaela who could make it. The others are
staying in the empire.”

The reason it had taken Oscar and Vandre a month and a half to make it to
the Pale Forest was because along the way, they’d discovered that the
Grandort Empire had been acting suspiciously. So they’d infiltrated the
country and investigated. The reason half of the empire’s flagship fleet had
just exploded when Oscar arrived was because they’d sabotaged those ships
beforehand.

In truth, they’d planned on destroying the empire’s fleet before it even got
a single volley off, but they’d been intercepted by the monsters the Paragons
of Light kept on standby, and had needed to annihilate them before they
could catch up to the airships.

Oscar’s investigation had unearthed that the airships were just the
empire’s first wave, too, and that they would be sending an army by land for
the second wave. Shushu, Tony, Abe, Margaretta, and the other Schnee clan
members had all stayed behind to work together with the other Liberators in
the region to sabotage that second wave. Moreover, Vandre had already
successfully spread his familiars throughout the forest. Most of Batlam was
also patrolling the forest, though Vandre was keeping his faithful butler’s
core in his pocket.

“I see... Do you think Shushu and the others will be able to delay the
empire’s army for long?”

Marshal stepped forward to answer.

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“If they can’t, I’m sure they’ll at least send a messenger to let us know.
We met Howzer along the way, so we’ve got a communication chain set up.”

“You met Howzer!? Does that mean he got everyone out of Agris safely?”
“Yep. We told him what was going on with us, and he said he’d link up
with Shushu’s squad.”
Miledi smiled at the good news. After the information exchange between
Liberators ended, Lyutillis took charge of the conversation once more.
“If the point of the federation’s reckless charge was to secure air
superiority and allow the empire’s fleet to bombard us, then we can safely
say their plan has failed... However, Miledi-tan...”
Though she was being serious now, it seemed she was going to keep using
Miledi’s nickname. The contrast was kind of surreal. In truth when things
were truly serious Lyutillis dropped the silly honorifics, but Oscar and the
others weren’t aware of that yet. Lyutillis powered on, her expression and
tone still serious.
“We now have all the pieces you said we’d need to succeed. So can you
tell me what your plans are now, Miledi-tan?”
“Well...” Miledi said thoughtfully, though it was clear she’d already
decided their next course of action ahead of time. She stepped forward and
said, “Lyu-chan, I think we—”
“Lyu-chan!?”
“Shut up for a second, O-kun!”
This was a serious discussion, the time for jokes could come later. Miledi
loudly cleared her throat and said, “Nacchan should keep guarding you, while
we still need Meru-nee to take care of the wounded. But now O-kun and the
others can join the front lines.”
There was no doubt that Laus Barn was slowly getting more fatigued.
While it was worrying that he was developing new techniques even as he was
being pushed back, now that Oscar was here, Miledi was sure they could beat
him.
Meanwhile, Vandre would be able to take care of the Paragons of Light.
In his dragon form, he was more than a match for Adra, and the monsters
he’d created could easily overwhelm the Paragons of Light’s beasts. Plus,
Marshal and Mikaela would be able to back up Badd in his battle against
Lilith and the other Templar Knights.
“The faster we put an end to this war, the better. I think we should be the

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ones to strike this time. At the very least—”
Miledi sucked in a deep breath, imbuing her voice with as much vigor as

possible.
“The Liberators will take the fight to them. It’s time we showed the world

that the church’s power isn’t absolute.”
As silence fell over the throne room, Miledi turned back to Oscar and

Vandre. Oscar casually adjusted his glasses while Vandre loosened his
muffler.

“As you command, Leader.”
“We’ll follow you anywhere.”
Both of them smiled fearlessly at her. Badd and the others all nodded
confidently at their leader as well.
Warmed by her comrades’ resolve, Miledi turned proudly back to
Lyutillis. The elven queen smiled down at her and said, “Then we shall join
you. The republic stands with the Liberators, now and forever. Let us crush
the theocracy, smash their ideals, and bring the federation back to their
senses.”
Lyutillis’ words reverberated throughout the room. None of the other
beastmen objected. They were as committed as their queen.
“Tomorrow, this war ends. Leader of the Liberators, Miledi Reisen. We
bind our fate to yours.”
“Thank you, queen of the republic, Lyutillis Haltina. We likewise bind
our fate to yours.”
Lyutillis rose from her throne and stepped down from the dais it sat on.
She held her hand out to Miledi, who rose to her feet and grabbed it. All of
the beastmen clapped and cheered as elf and human publicly joined.

Once the audience was over, Miledi and the others decided to rest until
the decisive battle. First, they all went back to their respective rooms to clean
themselves up. Lyutillis wanted to hold another tea party with just the ancient
magic users so she could let her true self out one last time before the fighting
began. The plan was for everyone to gather at the usual spring after everyone
had freshened up.

Oscar followed a catgirl maid to the spring, his glasses flashing with
excitement as he took in the scenery. The maid was a bit put off by the light
constantly reflecting off his glasses, but he ignored her and walked through

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the fog veil separating the spring from the rest of the forest.
“Hm? You got here fast, Miledi. Are you the only one?”
Oscar had expected the girls to take their time, but it seemed Miledi had

been the first to arrive. Naiz and Vandre weren’t even ready yet.
“Mrrr, you’re late. I thought everyone was avoiding me or something!

What if I’d gotten so sad I drowned myself!?”
As he drew closer, Oscar saw that Miledi had removed her socks and

shoes, and was dipping her feet into the spring. It was obvious she’d just been
enjoying the cool water, but it seemed she wanted to spin her actions as an
attempted suicide. Seeing that—

“Haha, good one,” Oscar said with a laugh.
“Oi, Oscar. You think this is funny!?”
Please, it’s not like you’re sensitive enough to actually commit suicide
over something like that... Oscar thought as Miledi glared at him. Annoyed,
Miledi patted the ground next to her.
Oscar couldn’t ignore an order from his beloved leader, so he shrugged
his shoulders and sat down beside her. He’d just taken a shower and didn’t
want to get wet again, so he sat cross-legged instead of dipping his feet in the
spring.
For a while, the two just sat there in companionable silence. Though they
exchanged no words, the two found comfort in each other’s presence.
After some time, Miledi suddenly opened her mouth.
“Laus Barn really is the guy who saved Belle.”
“I see... Were you able to thank him?”
“Yep. I made him a promise, too.”
“Then I guess you better prove that Miledi Reisen won’t lose to anyone.”
“Yep.”
“And that nothing will stop her.”
“Yep.”
Oscar didn’t even need to ask to know what the promise had been. Nor
did he have any intention of bringing up the fact that Laus was their enemy
and that sympathizing with the enemy was dangerous. He had Miledi’s back
no matter what.
Miledi happily bobbed her head from side to side, her ponytail swaying
back and forth. She kicked at the water too, sending droplets flying through
the air.

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“Hey, stop that, Miledi. You’re getting water on my glasses.”
“Deal with it.”
“Now that’s just unfair.”
“Sorry, but that’s how it goes. I’m a pretty girl, and pretty girls are
allowed to do whatever they want.”
“Apologize to all the pretty girls across the world for bringing down their
reputation.”
Miledi was in surprisingly high spirits, considering she’d looked
depressed a few minutes ago. Though Oscar had been with her enough that
he was used to her moods switching at the drop of a hat.
This was nothing new. But at the same time, it felt oddly novel. This was
his first time seeing her in a month-and-a-half, which was the longest time
they’d been apart since they’d first met. Oscar had been worried that taking
part in her first real war would have weighed down on Miledi, but
fortunately, she seemed to be as chipper as ever. That came as a huge relief to
Oscar.
Water splashed him in the face as he was lost in thought. There was
enough of it that he knew this was no accident. Miledi had been aiming for
him.
“What was that for, Miledi?” Oscar asked, his voice dangerously low. But
for once, Miledi had a good reason for her pranks.
“I-It’s your fault for looking at me like that! You’re acting weird, O-kun!”
“Did you just call me a pervert? You’re gonna regret that.”
Oscar had interpreted “weird” to mean “perverted,” which from his
perspective was a natural interpretation. And so, he didn’t realize that Miledi
was actually flustered because she’d been captivated by the gentle look in his
eyes.
“What, you wanna go? You’re just a wimpy O-kun!”
Pouting, Miledi twisted her body and kicked Oscar with her bare legs.
“Hey, stop that! You’re getting my clothes wet now!”
“This is your punishment, so just accept it!”
“Huh? Punishment for what?”
As they argued, Miledi continued kicking Oscar, occasionally dipping her
feet back in the water to keep them wet. Since they were both sitting down, if
Miledi raised her legs too high, Oscar would be able to see under her skirt.
Though it looked like she either wasn’t aware of that or didn’t care. Oscar

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grabbed her leg mid-kick to make sure she didn’t raise it any higher.
“For coming too late,” Miledi replied. Oscar could tell she was referring

to his arrival to the forest, not here to this spring.
“I already explained why I had to do that!”
“I don’t care.”
Now you’re just acting like a spoiled kid... Oscar frowned to himself,

putting some force into his arms to keep Miledi from pulling her leg free. In
general, a person’s leg strength was much greater than their arm strength, but
Oscar was a grown man who’d trained his muscles, while Miledi was a
teenage girl who fought exclusively with magic. No matter how hard she
tried, she couldn’t escape Oscar’s grip.

“Dammit, O-kun, don’t think you’ve won just yet!”
“Fine, fine, my bad. Now go put your shoes on. The others’ll be here
soon.”
As he said that, Oscar pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. Before
Miledi could ask what it was for, he started wiping down her feet with it.
“Hey, wait, stop! I can dry myself off!”
“Really?” Oscar asked, not bothering to stop. If she really wanted to do it
herself, he knew she’d just snatch the handkerchief from her. Since she
didn’t, he kept going.
“F-Fine. If you wanna wipe my feet that badly, you can.”
“Mhm...”
“Man, beauties like me sure have it tough. Even when I tell people they
don’t have to do anything for me, they just can’t help themselves. Ahhh, my
beauty is a sin.”
“Yeah, it must be so hard for you.”
“I’m sorry, O-kun. I’m sorry I’m so charming!”
“Yep, you’re super charming alright.”
“......”

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